Educational Science

Lives of Female Komodo Dragons Cut Short by 'Housework'

Female Komodo dragons live half as long as their male counterparts — 31 years on average compared with the guys' 62. A new study suggests the physical demands of lizard housework, which includes building nests and protecting eggs, cut the females' life spans short. A team of researchers studied 400...

Arabian sand boa: The derpy snake that looks like it's got googly eyes glued to the top of its head

Name: Arabian sand boa (Eryx jayakari) Where it lives: Sandy deserts of the Arabian Peninsula and southwestern Iran What it eats: Short-fingered geckos (Stenodactylus), Baluch rock geckos (Bunopus tuberculatus) and worm lizards. Why it's awesome: These derpy-looking snakes have eyes that seem like they've been glued onto the top of...

Snakes have a supercharged evolutionary clock that enables them to adapt at far faster rates than other reptiles, scientists have discovered. This ability has helped them become evolutionary winners and spread across the planet. Snakes are like the Big Bang 'singularity' in cosmology — a dramatic expansion of diversity in...

200-pound 'monster' Burmese python finally captured in Florida after 5 men sit on it

The second-largest Burmese python ever discovered in South Florida has been captured after give people sat on the enormous snake, which was found stretched out across a road in the Big Cypress National Preserve. Initially, the python-hunters thought the female snake was an alligator due to its size. It was...

How we found the northern green anaconda, a new species of the heaviest snake on Earth

The green anaconda has long been considered one of the Amazon's most formidable and mysterious animals. Our new research upends scientific understanding of this magnificent creature, revealing it is actually two genetically different species. The surprising finding opens a new chapter in conservation of this top jungle predator. Green anacondas...

The biggest snake in the world (and 9 other giant serpents)

With exquisitely patterned bodies, predatory strikes that accelerate faster than a fighter jet, and even a capacity for flight, snakes are a fascinating group of reptiles. Some deserve attention for one feature in particular: their enormous size. From boa constrictors to reticulated pythons, we share the planet with some incredible...

Slow-motion footage of snake attacks reveals surprise discovery about how they kill

Video footage of the moment snakes launch themselves at their prey reveals that the reptiles are either strikers or lungers — and the difference between the two is rooted in their teeth, new research has found. Strikers attack at lightning speed from above, impaling their prey with needlelike teeth at...

Cottonmouth snakes: Facts about water moccasins

Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus), also called water moccasins, are venomous snakes found in the southeastern United States. They're called cottonmouths because of the white coloration on the inside of their mouths, which they display when threatened. Cottonmouths are semiaquatic, so they're comfortable both swimming in water (hence their other common name...